The History of Life on Earth

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to the history of life on Earth as discussed in the lecture.

Dehydration Synthesis

A chemical reaction that involves the joining of two molecules with the removal of water.

Hydrolysis Reaction

A chemical process in which a water molecule is used to break down a compound.

Geologic Time

A timeline of Earth's history divided into eons, eras, periods, and epochs.

Hadean Eon

The earliest eon in Earth's history, from the formation of the Earth approximately 4.6 billion years ago.

Archean Eon

The eon that follows the Hadean, characterized by the formation of the first stable continental crusts.

Proterozoic Eon

The eon before the Phanerozoic, marked by the appearance of the first simple life forms.

Phanerozoic Eon

The eon that encompasses most of the visible life on Earth, spanning from 542 million years ago to the present.

Continental Drift

The gradual movement of continents across the Earth's surface.

Subduction

The process by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate.

Isotope Data

Information related to the mass variation of elements used to deduce the age and origin of planetary bodies.

Anaerobic Respiration

The process by which cells break down glucose in the absence of oxygen.

Abiotic Synthesis

The formation of organic molecules without the influence of living organisms.

Macromolecules

Large complex molecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids, made from smaller building blocks.

Endosymbiotic Theory

The theory that some organelles, including mitochondria and chloroplasts, originated as symbiotic prokaryotes.

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods with the help of chlorophyll.

Oxygen Revolution

The event when oxygen produced by photosynthetic organisms began to accumulate in the Earth's atmosphere around 2.7 billion years ago.

Eukaryotic Cells

Complex cells that contain a nucleus and organelles, unlike prokaryotic cells.

RNA and DNA

Nucleic acids that serve as genetic material, RNA translated into proteins and DNA as a heredity material.

Multicellularity

The condition of being composed of multiple cells that can work together.

Cambrian Explosion

A period roughly 541 million years ago when many major groups of animals first appeared in the fossil record.